EP Review: DEADLETTER - ‘Heat!’

If South London’s seasonal post-punk renaissance is finally smouldering out then DEADLETTER are a phoenix rising from the ashes. Conquering fertile ground between latter-day punk politicism and the art-rockers of the early-00s, the sextet have surfaced with some of the scrappiest, sarkiest sounds on the market, despite sporting just two years of experience beneath their belt.

On debut EP, ‘Heat!’ these sharp edges are sanded down slightly, as the band finds the sweet spot betweenangular activism and lush, all-consuming grooves. Lead single ‘Binge’ balances sullen angst with a Talking Heads wiriness to birth something insatiably catchy and genuinely danceable, while the lopsided rhythms of ‘Madge’s Declaration’ bristle with anti-materialism messaging.

Though ‘Heat!’ is just five songs long, it never stays in one place long enough for the listener to get a complete handle on it. Rather than follow safely in the footsteps of their post-punk forefathers, DEADLETTER are incited by expansion and experimentation, sounding most scintillating with a varied arsenal of wiry motifs and red-hot riffs at their disposal. It’ll take a lot to extinguish this blaze.

Printed in LICKS Mag: Issue #9.